Would you like to follow Jacob?

Biblical Jacob has finally ceded his Number 1 spot to biblical Noah, after holding first place from 1999 to 2012, having been given a huge boost by the Twilight phenomenon. Jacob has widespread appeal to a range of parents, with an image of honesty and warmth. Another plus is friendly nickname Jake - also given on its own to thousands of boys every year-- which shares the cool appeal of equally stylish cousins Max and Sam.

The downside is that Jacob is at this point way overused. In the Old Testament, Jacob was one of the most important patriarchs of the tribes of Israel, the youngest son of Isaac and Rebecca and the twin brother of Esau and husband of both Leah and Rachel, the twelve tribes of Israel evolving from his twelve sons.

JACOBY is a rapidly rising variation, JAKOB is an alternate spelling used by the Dutch, Scandinavians and Germans, and some interesting international versions include the Scottish Hamish, the Cornish Jago, and the Dutch Jaap. Jacob is currently Number 1 in Wales, and 5 in England.

Famous People Named Jacob

Pop Culture References for the Name Jacob

Jacob Black, werewolf character in the "Twilight" series
Jacob Marley, character from Dickens' "A ChristmasCarol"
Jacob, character from TV's "Lost"
Jacob David "Jake" Harper, character on TV's "Two and a Half Men"
Jacob Jankowski, main character in book/movie "Water for Elephants"
Jacob Portman, main character in the "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" series by Ransom Riggs
Jacob Carter, character on TV's "Stargate: SG-1"
Jacob Gallagher, character on British soap "Emmerdale"
Jacob "Jake" Moon, character on British soap "EastEnders"
Jacob "Jake" Sisko, character on TV's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
Jacob DanielJohnson, character in the Nightmare on ElmStreet series
Jacobitism, 18th century political movement to restore the Roman Catholic StuartKingJames II of England to the throne

Pop Culture References for the Name Jacob

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